


The Choice

by redqueenoctavia



Category: The Lord of the Rings (Movies), The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: F/M, Headcanon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2020-01-22 23:38:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18537808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redqueenoctavia/pseuds/redqueenoctavia
Summary: Arwen says goodbye to her father, and considers the consequences of her choice.





	The Choice

This was it.

There was no going back. The choice had been made and it was done.

The elven delegation from Imladris and their Lord Elrond had left for the Grey Havens, and then for their true home of Valinor. Never to return.

They had stayed in Gondor for a short time, to attend the wedding between Lady Arwen and Aragorn Elessar the new King of the Reunited Kingdom, and to assist the Queen’s integration in the Gondorian capital in the days that followed the royal event.

In those days, there was joy in their hearts. Arwen had been the happiest she could remember from recent memory. The war was won, evil had been vanquished, her love had not only survived the brutal battles and destruction but had finally accept his destiny as Isildur’s heir, all of her family all reunited in one place.

Then the day came to suffer the consequences of the choice. Her choice.

It had not been an easy task. Regardless of what she decided, she would lose someone she loved, and someone she loved would lose her. Forever.

But there could have been no other decision in her my mind, her heart.

If she abandoned the man she loved, she would have to live with the pain and heaviness in her heart. And she would have to live forever. The years would pass by, and with each passing decade, she would know that on the other side, Aragorn was slowly dying. Without him, she would wither. Her soul would die long before his years ended.

And to remain behind in Middle Earth with the one she loved, she had to break her father’s heart. More than once, since both of her older brothers had expressed their wishes to stay with her. Which meant Lord Elrond would have to leave all three of his children behind, knowing well he was leaving his daughter to eventually die.

Gazing at the starless sky, she remembered their parting.

***

Arwen and her father Lord Elrond walked together in silence, both heavily aware that this would be their last meeting.

She halted to watch her father. He a few steps further and stopped near a statue of Elendil that adorned the citadel, his back turned to her.

Before she could speak, her father inquired, “Have you given any thought to what you are going to name my grandson?”

Arwen smiled lovingly at the thought of the young boy she’d seen in her vision, for she already loved her son so.

“I have.”

Lord Elrond turned and looked at her expectantly.

“Eldarion.”

 _Eldarion_. Son of the Eldar.

Her father’s small smile broken her heart in two.

“ _Ada_ -” Arwen began.

“Your happiness is all I wish for, my child.”

“I know.”

“Aragorn is a good man, he will no doubt be a great king…” her father continued, certainty in his voice. “And a great husband and father.”

The memory brought her back to the present and she smiled once again.

Arwen could feel it. The child had already taken root inside of her. Placing a hand on her stomach, she swore she could feel her heart expanding to twice its size.

Her child. Her Eldarion.

In her heart, she knew she would always feel torn apart. One part wanted to leave with her family, to see her mother again… the other could not fathom ever living without Aragorn, and their children.

It was a bittersweet ache.

Late that night, Arwen entered the King’s main quarters, where she and her husband slept together every night, and climbed into bed next to him. He was deep in slumber. Yet when she rested beside him and laid her head on his chest, he stirred and turned his head in her direction, taking her hand in his and placing them both above his heart.

He whispered, “Arwen…”

“Shhh,” she pleaded. “Just hold me.”

Aragorn pulled her close to his side and placed a gentle kiss of her forehead.

They clung to each other for a long while, the silence surrounding them as they drowned in their own thoughts. After a moment, he spoke,

“If you trust nothing else…”

Then, he brought her hand to the Evenstar that still hung around his neck.

_Trust this… Trust us._

She had uttered those words to him not too long ago, when his heart had been filled with doubt and sorrow.

Arwen’s lips titled up and held on to him a little tighter.

No. There could have been no other decision in her heart.

She was his. And he was hers. Forever.


End file.
